Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Noted filmmaker Shekhar Kapur breaks the ice around his most-awaited futuristic film, Paani , which he intends to start shooting early next year, says Divya Kaushik

From voicing and giving his poetic works a public image to starting with his most-awaited and ambitious project based in India, this eclectic director surely has a lot on his mind right now. Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur back home and will be here till the time he starts his project, Paani, that has been in news for long now but hasn’t yet seen the light of the day.

“People have been talking about it but unfortunately, the project hasn’t taken off. I might begin shooting by February end or the first week of March. That’s the deadline I’ve set for myself,” says the director, taking a deep breath. And no, he hasn’t decided the locations so far nor is he ready to spill the beans on the star cast of the movie. However, rumour is that he has finalised Hrithik Roshan for the lead. “I can’t tell anything related with the cast of the movie but would like to correct some people who think Paani will be a science thriller. I would rather call it a futuristic movie that narrates the tale of the world without water. It deals with a serious subject and will put the picture of the future so any location can be ideal. It can be Mumbai, Bengaluru or any other place. There is also a love story weaved in it,” he smiles suspiciously.

After Paani, Kapur is planning to do a series of movies based on climate change. “I intend bringing renowned directors from across the world to work on this series. I won’t mind if these are of 10-15 minutes duration,” he adds.

The noted director, nominated for Oscars and who created ripples in Hollywood with his film Elizabeth: The Golden Age, was in the Capital after a long time and like most of the times, he surprised his fans. He narrated a few of his poems, the first time he was doing so while designer Manish Arora showcased his collection on the theme, Circus of Life. “I’ve been writing poetry since long but never got them published. I never thought it necessary. But I narrated a poem for this show where Manish and I worked together,” he says. It was the first time the director has collaborated with a fashion designer but denies on being a fashion-conscious person himself. Manish, who worked with Kapur, says, “I don’t believe it. When I first met him, I saw him wearing a shoe brand that no one knows in India. It is picked up by a select few fashionable men in West. I was surprised to find out that besides me there is another Indian who sports this brand.”

Says Kapur, “I don’t know anything about fashion but I believe in designs. It is something that constantly leads people towards change. I always wanted to do something with design so I and Manish decided to come together to do ‘something’ with design.” To which Arora adds, “But that ‘something’ we can’t reveal now though we’re even sure of the name.”

Even with so many things on his platter, the director says that another Hollywood project is in the making simultaneously. “I’m exploring the life of English explorer and mountain climber, George Marllory. Nobody knows where did he go or how he died? I just loved the subject and will make a film on it soon,” says Kapur, known for his love for sci-fi movies.

He had once said that he would love to make a sequel to Spiderman but there’s some time for that. “I said that may be I will be coming up with a Spiderman 6 or 7. I think it’ll take time. Let Spiderman 4 come first,” says the director who believes there lies a vast difference in the process of filmmaking and in the subjects in Hollywood and Bollywood.

“Both are wide faces. Whereas Hollywood picks up more vast subjects, Bollywood sticks to a few,” he says. Kapur was seen on small screen some time back with India’s Got Talent. The director says he’ll make a comeback only if something really creative comes his way. “The definition of creative is different for me and something that I feel would change some people’s lives and can move me, would make me return to TV,” he clarifies.

Kapur has always been open in speaking out his mind on spirituality and we might soon get to hear the director is working on a film based on it. “Why not? Spirituality to me is an expression that defines your relationship with your senses and entire universe. I would love to present my version of spirituality to people,” he sums up.